Director of Community Engagement

Stafford County; Virginia; On-site; USD 127,000 - 222,000; Full time

Job summary

Stafford County, Virginia, seeks an accomplished, innovative director to lead its community engagement and communications function. This senior executive ensures a clear, credible voice across government channels, connecting residents with services and building trust.

The role emphasizes listening, cross-department coordination, and strategic communications to support Board priorities and community trust, including media relations, branding, and crisis communications.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree with a major in English, communications, or public relations and 6 years in public relations.
• Knowledge of FOIA, public records laws, and transparency standards.
• Experience leading a comprehensive communications and community engagement program.

Responsibilities

• Directs and oversees the county’s comprehensive communications and community engagement program.
• Develops strategic communications plans aligned with Board priorities and leadership.
• Serves as primary liaison for media relations, FOIA requests, and crisis communications.
• Oversees customer service and contact center operations to improve access to services.
• Coordinates with elected officials and departments to identify communication needs and public engagement initiatives.
• Produces multimedia communications across websites, social media, video, and publications.

Skills

Media relations

Crisis communications

Public information

Digital communications

Storytelling / messaging

Community engagement

Education

Bachelor’s degree in English / communications / public relations

Tools

Microsoft Office

Adobe Creative Suite

Drupal

WordPress

Job description

Stafford County, Virginia, is seeking an accomplished, innovative, and strategic communications leader to serve as its Director of Community Engagement.

This senior executive position will lead Stafford County's comprehensive communications and community engagement function, helping shape how one of Virginia's fastest-growing communities communicates, connects, and builds trust with its residents, employees, businesses, media, and community partners.

This is more than a traditional public information or communications position. Stafford is seeking an executive leader who understands that effective community engagement requires listening as well as communicating, connecting residents with government services, strengthening relationships across the organization and ensuring that the County communicates with one clear, credible and accessible voice.

The hiring range for this position is $126,817.60 to $174,387.20 annually based on experience.

The salary range for this position is $126,817.60 to $221,936.00 to provide opportunity for growth and development.

• Directs and oversees the County’s comprehensive communications and community engagement program to ensure accurate, timely, and transparent information is provided to residents, employees, media, and other stakeholders;
• Develops and implements strategic communications plans that support the priorities of the Board of Supervisors and County leadership, including public information campaigns, branding initiatives, and digital communication strategies;
• Serves as the primary point of coordination for media relations, public information requests, and crisis communications, ensuring consistent messaging across all departments;
• Oversees the management and operations of the County’s customer service and contact center functions to improve resident access to government services and information;
• Ensures compliance with public information laws and responsibilities, including applicable requirements related to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), public records management, and transparency standards;
• Supervises communications and engagement staff, contractors, and consultants; establishes departmental priorities; and ensures work products meet professional standards and organizational goals;
• Coordinates closely with elected officials, executive leadership, departments, and community partners to identify communication needs, address emerging issues, and support public engagement initiatives;
• Oversees the production and distribution of multimedia communications including video, photography, graphics, publications, and digital content across websites, social media platforms, and other communication channels;
• Leads efforts to evaluate communication effectiveness using data, public feedback, and engagement metrics to inform strategies and improve outreach efforts;
• Provides strategic communications support during emergencies, major public events, and sensitive issues to ensure clear, timely, and coordinated information is provided to the public;
• Manages multiple projects and priorities simultaneously while ensuring deadlines are met and communications activities align with organizational objectives;
• Performs related work as required, including work during evenings, weekends, or emergency operations when necessary to support County communications needs.

• Demonstrate knowledge of best practices in newsgathering, reporting, public information laws and responsibilities, social media, marketing and branding, internal and external communications, community engagement, video production and crisis communications;
• Working knowledge of and/or familiarity with photojournalism, video production, and graphic design;
• Comprehensive knowledge of federal and state laws, regulations and directives pertaining to governmental public information, including FOIA;
• Demonstrate an overall knowledge of the County, its structure, and operation;
• Excellent use of written and verbal communication skills, thorough knowledge of English grammar, usage, and spelling;
• Supervisory skills and interpersonal skills that are collegial, decisive, direct and approachable;
• Computer skills, particularly Microsoft Office (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Access, etc.) and design and multimedia applications (such as Adobe Creative Suite, Drupal, WordPress, etc.) as related to the position;
• Effective time management skills and the ability to work under specific time constraints;
• Ability to apply innovative, strategic approaches to proactively identify issues and develop effective solutions;
• Ability to create and implement a communications plan containing essential plan elements;
• Ability to work cooperatively with County employees, citizens, elected officials, and the media;
• Ability to articulate a compelling vision and motivate people to act with a shared vision;
• Ability to work flexible hours.

A combination of education and experience equivalent to a bachelor’s degree with a major in English, communications, or public relations, and 6 years of successful experience in public relations. Local government experience preferred.